Page 20 - The Mineral Development and Regulation Framework in India (English Version)
P. 20
Discussion Paper
Appendix 1: Glossary of terms such form, grade, or quality and quantity that there
are reasonable prospects for eventual economic
Beneficiation: Beneficiation is the processing of extraction. (International Council on Mining and
minerals or ores for the purpose of—(i) regulating Metals, i.e., ICMM)
the size of a desired mineral produce; (ii) removing
unwanted constituents; and (iii) improving quality, Mineral reserve (or Ore Reserve): A mineral
purity, or assay grade of the desired mineral produce. reserve or an ore reserve is the economically mineable
(MCDR) part of a mineral resource. (ICMM)
Exploration: Mineral ore: An ore is a type of rock or rocky material
that contains sufficient minerals with important
General Exploration involves the initial elements including metals that can be economically
delineation of an identified mineral deposit. extracted from the rock through mining operations.
Methods used include surface mapping, widely An ore body is the assemblage of such rocky material.
spaced sampling, trenching, and drilling for
preliminary evaluation of mineral quantity and Mineralization: Mineralization is the process of
quality (including mineralogical tests on laboratory formation of a mineral out of unmineralized material
scale if required), and limited interpolation or concentration of the mineral above its normal
based on indirect methods of investigation. The abundance due to geological processes involving heat,
objective is to establish the main geological pressure, chemical action, sedimentation, etc.
features of a deposit, giving a reasonable indication
of continuity and providing an initial estimate of Mineral occurrence: An indication of mineralization,
size, shape, structure, and grade. The degree of that is worthy of further investigation. The term
accuracy should be sufficient for deciding whether mineral occurrence only indicates presence of one
a Prefeasibility Study and Detailed Exploration are or more minerals but does not imply any measure of
warranted. (UNFC) volume or tonnage, grade or quality and is thus not yet
part of a mineral resource. (UNFC)
Detailed Exploration involves the detailed
three-dimensional delineation of a known mineral Mineral deposit: A mineral occurrence of relatively
deposit through sampling, such as from outcrops, higher concentration.
trenches, boreholes, shafts, and tunnels. Sampling
grids for drilling are closely spaced such that Mining operation: A mining operation is any
size, shape, structure, grade, and other relevant operation undertaken for the purpose of winning
characteristics of the deposit are established (i.e., recovering) any mineral. It generally includes
with a high degree of accuracy. Processing tests extracting the ore and then processing it to recover
involving bulk sampling may be required. (UNFC) the minerals in the ore (MMDR Act 1957).
Mineral: A mineral is a naturally occurring substance Mining lease: A lease granted for the purpose of
that is solid and inorganic and representable by undertaking mining operations, and includes a sub-
a chemical formula, and has an ordered atomic lease. (MMDR Act 1957)
structure. It is different from a rock, which can be an
aggregate of minerals or non-minerals and does not Prospecting: It means any operation undertaken for
have a specific chemical composition. Most but not all the purpose of exploring, locating, or proving mineral
minerals are crystalline. Most but not all minerals have deposit, including geochemical and geophysical
one or more metals as part of the substance. surveys, and drilling. (MMDR Act 1957)
Mineral resource: A mineral resource is a Prospecting is the systematic process of searching
concentration or occurrence of solid material of for a mineral deposit by narrowing down areas of
economic interest in or on the Earth’s crust in promising enhanced mineral potential. The methods
utilized are outcrop identification, geological
mapping, and indirect methods such as geophysical
and geochemical studies. Limited trenching, drilling,
20 JANUARY 2015
Appendix 1: Glossary of terms such form, grade, or quality and quantity that there
are reasonable prospects for eventual economic
Beneficiation: Beneficiation is the processing of extraction. (International Council on Mining and
minerals or ores for the purpose of—(i) regulating Metals, i.e., ICMM)
the size of a desired mineral produce; (ii) removing
unwanted constituents; and (iii) improving quality, Mineral reserve (or Ore Reserve): A mineral
purity, or assay grade of the desired mineral produce. reserve or an ore reserve is the economically mineable
(MCDR) part of a mineral resource. (ICMM)
Exploration: Mineral ore: An ore is a type of rock or rocky material
that contains sufficient minerals with important
General Exploration involves the initial elements including metals that can be economically
delineation of an identified mineral deposit. extracted from the rock through mining operations.
Methods used include surface mapping, widely An ore body is the assemblage of such rocky material.
spaced sampling, trenching, and drilling for
preliminary evaluation of mineral quantity and Mineralization: Mineralization is the process of
quality (including mineralogical tests on laboratory formation of a mineral out of unmineralized material
scale if required), and limited interpolation or concentration of the mineral above its normal
based on indirect methods of investigation. The abundance due to geological processes involving heat,
objective is to establish the main geological pressure, chemical action, sedimentation, etc.
features of a deposit, giving a reasonable indication
of continuity and providing an initial estimate of Mineral occurrence: An indication of mineralization,
size, shape, structure, and grade. The degree of that is worthy of further investigation. The term
accuracy should be sufficient for deciding whether mineral occurrence only indicates presence of one
a Prefeasibility Study and Detailed Exploration are or more minerals but does not imply any measure of
warranted. (UNFC) volume or tonnage, grade or quality and is thus not yet
part of a mineral resource. (UNFC)
Detailed Exploration involves the detailed
three-dimensional delineation of a known mineral Mineral deposit: A mineral occurrence of relatively
deposit through sampling, such as from outcrops, higher concentration.
trenches, boreholes, shafts, and tunnels. Sampling
grids for drilling are closely spaced such that Mining operation: A mining operation is any
size, shape, structure, grade, and other relevant operation undertaken for the purpose of winning
characteristics of the deposit are established (i.e., recovering) any mineral. It generally includes
with a high degree of accuracy. Processing tests extracting the ore and then processing it to recover
involving bulk sampling may be required. (UNFC) the minerals in the ore (MMDR Act 1957).
Mineral: A mineral is a naturally occurring substance Mining lease: A lease granted for the purpose of
that is solid and inorganic and representable by undertaking mining operations, and includes a sub-
a chemical formula, and has an ordered atomic lease. (MMDR Act 1957)
structure. It is different from a rock, which can be an
aggregate of minerals or non-minerals and does not Prospecting: It means any operation undertaken for
have a specific chemical composition. Most but not all the purpose of exploring, locating, or proving mineral
minerals are crystalline. Most but not all minerals have deposit, including geochemical and geophysical
one or more metals as part of the substance. surveys, and drilling. (MMDR Act 1957)
Mineral resource: A mineral resource is a Prospecting is the systematic process of searching
concentration or occurrence of solid material of for a mineral deposit by narrowing down areas of
economic interest in or on the Earth’s crust in promising enhanced mineral potential. The methods
utilized are outcrop identification, geological
mapping, and indirect methods such as geophysical
and geochemical studies. Limited trenching, drilling,
20 JANUARY 2015
